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Featured Festival: Biergarten Festival (Morrison, Colorado)

The top three reasons why Biergarten Festival is one of my favorite summer fests:

1. It is located in one of the loveliest settings in Colorado.

2. The music never stops.

3. It’s simple.

First, location. The Biergarten Festival is held in the foothills outside of Morrison, Colorado. The fest has its own pavilion with tables and a large dance floor. The view is beautiful and unobstructed from anywhere on the festival grounds. It feels removed from the big city, and yet Denver is just 26 minute away.

I couldn’t resist taking this photo through the wooden pavilion fence. The fence has little heart and tree cutouts.

Second, the music never stops at Biergarten Festival. This is a key ingredient of a good event, especially one so steeped on German culture. A number of bands take the stage at the festival, but when they put their instruments down and take a break, a strolling accordion player takes over. This keeps the atmosphere continually festive and authentic.

The children were the first ones on the dance floor last year, but it didn’t take long for the adults to follow.The TEV Edelweiss dancers are my favorite entertainers at this festival.

Third, it’s simple. I go to a lot of events, and sometimes it feels like the organizers have needlessly overcomplicated things. There are bounce houses the size of small countries and vendors selling everything from cell phones to cheap toys. There are waffle cones and cotton candy and every type of fried food imaginable.

This often muddles the theme of the event and creates the wrong kind of buzz. Biergarten Festival is a simple beer garden festival. You come to drink good beer, eat a giant pretzel and perhaps some schnitzel. You come to listen to great music and maybe take a spin on the dance floor. The simplicity of Biergarten Festival is refreshing.

My very happy husband, Ryan Schlaefer.

While this is called a beer garden festival, it is a true family event. There are usually a few activities for kids taking place below the pavilions, but a lot of children enjoy the festival atmosphere provided by the bands. For example, the Austrian Connection has some very fun music that requires crowd participation.

We never miss this festival and I hope that you will join me this year.